Could the ramen burger be more than a fad food?

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Vidya Rao TODAY

47 minutes ago

Rebecca Davis/TODAY.com

Call it unconventional. Call it over-the-top. You can even call it greasy. Just don?t call the ramen burger ?college food.?

The burger, an all-beef patty stuffed between fresh, chewy ramen noodles in lieu of a bun, and served with a variety of fillings and accompaniments, has captured the appetites of New Yorkers since its debut a month ago, with hundreds of people standing in line to get a bite at Brooklyn?s Smorgasburg on Saturdays. For the mash-up?s mastermind Keizo Shimamoto, it?s proof that the American palate has a soft spot for good ramen.

?The ultimate dream is that I want to teach Americans about real ramen, not just instant ramen that we?re used to,? Shimamoto, 35, told TODAY.com. ?Most people in America think ?Oh, college food, instant ramen, cheap,? but real ramen is actually a little more healthy for you than instant ramen and it?s actually really good. People take good care in making it.?

The ramen aficionado, who blogs about the noodles, can count on at least one new fan ? Marilyn Hagerty, the 87-year-old food writer who became a viral sensation because of her Olive Garden review.

?You just wonder, who would ever think of a ramen burger?? she told TODAY.com after taking a taste. ?It is a good combination of flavors with the ramen flavor and the burger? a very clever way to serve a burger. It does hold up well ? it?s a tiny bit oily, you need the napkin, but I think it?s got to be the way it is to taste as good as it does. It would be something that would make it for me at lunchtime or maybe in the middle of the afternoon when you?re just about ready to eat something, at 4 o?clock.?

Unfortunately, she?d be out of luck by 4 p.m.

People start lining up at 7:30 a.m. on Saturdays for a chance to get just one ramen burger, which Shimamoto, who is of Japanese descent and grew up in Los Angeles, says is made with fresh ramen from Sun Noodle in New Jersey.

?I?ve been surprised by how excited, curious and interested people are about this ? their anticipation is really cool,? said Mike Fox, who is producing a documentary short about the fervor around the ramen burger. ?It?s weird ? people have decided they want this and they?re resigned to waiting ? they have a fear of missing out so they make sure to get there early.?

Story: Marilyn Hagerty reviews the Cronut: 'It's very chewy'

To assure that people aren't standing in line on blind faith alone, Shimamoto and crew count up how many patrons they'll likely be able to feed, and give the final person a sign pointing out they are the lucky last customer. Even so, they always sell out, so several hopefuls go home empty handed.

The fanfare is encouraging for Shimamoto, who quit his job as a computer programmer and moved to Japan to study ramen for four years.

?Basically, I?ve loved ramen since I was a kid,? he said. ?I?ve been eating it my whole life ? I just wanted a [career] change. I wanted something new and interesting, so I decided to just quit my job and go study it. I took a trip around Japan and in 28 days, I ate 55 bowls of ramen and visited 21 different cities, and every one had a regionally different style so that really interested me and I wanted to learn more about it.?

Shimamoto came across something similar to the ramen burger in Japan and fell in love with the creation, which perfectly combines his Japanese and American cultures. He wanted to improve upon it and bring it to the U.S. ? making the bun stay together and using a beef patty instead of pork.

Hagerty told TODAY.com that she hopes the ramen burger will make its way to the Midwest. While that may not happen anytime soon, Shimamoto does have dreams of expansion.

?As long as we can get production up, we?d like to do other markets and collaborate with other restaurants,? he said. ?And possibly, in the future, open up a restaurant of our own, I?d like to open a restaurant on both coasts.?

Matt Murray contributed to this story.?

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/307f4199/sc/8/l/0L0Stoday0N0Cfood0Ccould0Eramen0Eburger0Ebe0Emore0Efad0Efood0E8C110A12649/story01.htm

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Marching for King's dream: 'The task is not done'

Crowds rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Fifty years ago, on the actual anniversary, April 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Crowds rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013. Fifty years ago, on the actual anniversary, April 28, 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. deliver his "I Have a Dream" speech during the March on Washington. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

Participants gather on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial during an event to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington, Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., speaks at a rally to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1963 March on Washington on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

Martin Luther King III, his wife Arndrea King and daughter Yolanda wave from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, to the crowd gathered for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the Aug. 28, 1963, March on Washington. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

FILE- In this Aug. 28, 1963, black-and-white file photo Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, addresses marchers during his "I Have a Dream" speech at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington. NBC News says it will rebroadcast a 1963 "Meet the Press" interview with Martin Luther King Jr. in honor of the March on Washington's 50th anniversary next week. King appeared on the news program three days before his landmark ?I Have a Dream? speech at the civil rights march. (AP Photo/File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Tens of thousands of people marched to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial and down the National Mall on Saturday, commemorating the 50th anniversary of King's famous speech and pledging that his dream includes equality for gays, Latinos, the poor and the disabled.

The event was an homage to a generation of activists that endured fire hoses, police abuse and indignities to demand equality for African Americans. But there was a strong theme of unfinished business.

"This is not the time for nostalgic commemoration," said Martin Luther King III, the oldest son of the slain civil rights leader. "Nor is this the time for self-congratulatory celebration. The task is not done. The journey is not complete. We can and we must do more."

Eric Holder, the nation's first black attorney general, said he would not be in office, nor would Barack Obama be president, without those who marched.

"They marched in spite of animosity, oppression and brutality because they believed in the greatness of what this nation could become and despaired of the founding promises not kept," Holder said.

Holder mentioned gays and Latinos, women and the disabled as those who had yet to fully realize the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s dream. Others in the crowd advocated organized labor, voting rights, revamping immigration policies and access to local post offices.

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., the only surviving speaker from the 1963 March on Washington, railed against a recent Supreme Court decision that effectively erased a key anti-discrimination provision of the Voting Rights Act. Lewis was a leader of a 1965 march, where police beat and gassed marchers who demanded access to voting booths.

"I gave a little blood on that bridge in Selma, Ala., for the right to vote," he said. "I am not going to stand by and let the Supreme Court take the right to vote away from us. You cannot stand by. You cannot sit down. You've got to stand up. Speak up, speak out and get in the way."

Organizers expected about 100,000 people to participate in the event, the precursor to the actual anniversary of the Aug. 28, 1963, march that drew some 250,000 to the National Mall and ushered in the idea of massive, nonviolent demonstrations.

Marchers began arriving early Saturday, many staking out their spots as the sun rose in a clear sky over the Capitol. By midday, tens of thousands had gathered on the National Mall.

Lynda Chambers, 58, gave up a day's pay to attend because her retail job does not provide paid vacation. Even as a 7-year-old at the time of the original march, she felt alienated and deprived of her rights. Remembering those feelings, she said, she was compelled to make the trip Saturday.

"I wanted to have some sort of connection to what I have always known, as far as being a black person," she said.

Longtime activist Al Sharpton, now a MSNBC host, implored young black men to respect women and reminded them that two of the leading figures in the civil rights movement of the 1960s were women.

"Rosa Parks wasn't no ho," he said. "And Fannie Lou Hamer wasn't no bitch."

Speakers frequently mentioned persistent high unemployment among blacks, which is about twice that of white Americans, and the acquittal of George Zimmerman for the shooting death of unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin in Florida. Along the Mall, Martin's picture was nearly as ubiquitous as King's.

Nancy Norman, of Seattle, said she was disappointed more people who look like her had not attended. She is white. But the 58-year-old she said she was glad to hear climate change discussed alongside voting rights.

"I'm the kind of person who thinks all of those things are interconnected. Climate change is at the top of my list," Norman said. "I don't think it's one we can set aside for any other discussion."

Those in attendance arrived in a post-9/11 Washington that was very different from the one civil rights leaders visited in 1963.

Then, people crowded the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and could get close to King to hear his "I Have a Dream" speech. Saturday's speakers were also on the memorial's steps, but metal barriers kept people away from the reflecting pool and only a small group of attendees was allowed near the memorial Saturday.

There was a media area and VIP seating. Everyone else had been pushed back and watched and listened to the speeches on big-screen televisions. Police were stationed atop the Lincoln Memorial. After the speeches, marchers walked from there, past the King Memorial, then down the National Mall to the Washington Monument, a distance of just over a mile.

On the day of the anniversary, President Barack Obama will speak from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. He will be joined by former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter. Churches and groups have been asked to ring bells at 3 p.m. Wednesday, marking the exact time King spoke.

Joseph Lowery, who founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference along with King, urged the crowd to continue working for King's ideals.

"We've come to Washington to commemorate," the 92-year-old civil rights leader said, "and we're going home to agitate."

___

Follow Suzanne Gamboa at http://www.twitter.com/APsgamboa

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-08-24-US-March-on-Washington/id-bfde700781ab4897b7916c39c163209c

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Huge Calif. wildfire spreads into Yosemite

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) ? A giant wildfire raging out of control spread into Yosemite National Park on Friday as authorities urged more evacuations in nearby communities where thousands have already been forced out by flames marching through the timbered slopes of the western Sierra Nevada.

The fire hit the park at the height of summer season, as officials geared up for a busy Labor Day weekend. It has closed some backcountry hiking but was not threatening the Yosemite Valley region, one of California's most popular tourist destinations.

The week-long blaze has spread to more than 165 square miles and was only 2 percent contained. It continued to grow in several directions, although "most of the fire activity is pushing to the east right into Yosemite," said Daniel Berlant, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The spectacular valley carved by glaciers offers visitors such iconic sights as the Half Dome and El Capitan rock formations and Bridalveil and Yosemite falls.

Smoke blowing across the Sierra into the state of Nevada forced officials in several counties to cancel outdoor school activities and issue health advisories, especially for people with respiratory problems.

Authorities urged more evacuations in nearby communities where thousands have already been forced out by flames.

The fire was threatening about 4,500 residences, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Already, the blaze has destroyed four homes and 12 outbuildings in several different areas. More than 2,000 firefighters were on the lines and one sustained a heat-related injury.

While the park remained open, the blaze closed a 4-mile stretch of State Route 120, one of three entrances into Yosemite on the west side. Two other western routes and an eastern route were open.

Within the park, the blaze was burning on about 17 square miles in a remote area around Lake Eleanor, about 4 miles northwest of Hetch Hetchy reservoir, Yosemite spokeswoman Kari Cobb said.

Backcountry permits are required to hike in that area, Cobb said. The park was no longer issuing those and had contacted every person who had received a permit to go there. Two roads into that area were closed and occupants of a campground near the Route 120 west entrance were relocated.

"We don't have anybody we know of in that area based on the permits we have out now," she said.

The fire was more than 20 miles from Yosemite Valley and skies there were "crystal clear," Cobb said.

"Right now there are no closures, and no visitor services are being affected in the park," he said. "We just have to take one day at a time depending on fire activity."

Officials also have advised voluntary evacuations of more than a thousand other homes, several organized camps and at least two campgrounds in the area outside the park's boundary.

On Friday, officials issued voluntary evacuation advisories for two new towns ? Tuolumne City, population 1,800, and Ponderosa Hills, a community of several hundred ? which are about five miles from the fire line, Forest Service spokesman Jerry Snyder said.

A mandatory evacuation order remained in effect for part of Pine Mountain Lake, a summer gated community a few miles from the fire.

"It feels a little bit like a war zone, with helicopters flying overhead, bombers dropping retardant and 10 engine companies stationed on our street," said Ken Codeglia, a retired Pine Mountain Lake resident who decided to stay to protect his house with his own hoses and fire retardant system. "But if the fire gets very hot and firefighters evacuate, I will run with them."

More homes, businesses and hotels are threatened in nearby Groveland, a community of 600 about 5 miles from the fire and 25 miles from the entrance of Yosemite.

Usually filled with tourists, the streets are now swarming with firefighters, evacuees, and news crews, said Doug Edwards, owner of Hotel Charlotte on Main Street.

"We usually book out six months solid with no vacancies and turn away 30-40 people a night. That's all changed," Edwards said. "All we're getting for the next three weeks is cancellations. It's a huge impact on the community in terms of revenue dollars."

The fire is raging in the same region where a 1987 fire killed a firefighter, burned hundreds of thousands of acres, and forced several thousand people out of their homes.

Five wildfires also were burning in Yellowstone National Park but not nearly as vigorously since portions the park in northwest Wyoming got half an inch or more of rain Wednesday.

Park officials continued to monitor a 12-square-mile fire five miles north of Lake Village. They didn't plan to send in firefighters but and continued to let the fire burn to help the ecosystem.

___

Associated Press writers Jason Dearen, Lisa Leff and Andrew Dalton in San Francisco, and Mead Gruver in Cheyenne, Wyo., also contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/huge-calif-wildfire-spreads-yosemite-193657768.html

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Healthy Back (Video) Series / Part I | Nimble Fitness: New York City ...

Hello! This is the first of a three-part video series on how to have and maintain a healthy back. Let?s start this week with your lower back.

Lower back health is a multi-billion dollar business in the U.S, with a very high percentage of people experiencing some type of lower back pain during their lifetime. There are many books and videos on the subject. Most of those books will explain the structural and muscular issues that contribute to lower back pain and proscribe stretches, exercises and medications to counteract them.

What I?ll discuss today is starting with a much more basic approach?things you can do right now, today, to help ease lower back pain that don?t cost a dime and are surprisingly effective. It?s our intention that this video series inspires you to take action. You can live pain free and feel young at any age!

Namaste,
Daniel

Source: http://www.nimblefitness.com/healthy-back-video-series-part-i

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